Why We Need To Talk About Burnout In The Tech Industry

Everyone has stressful days at work. But for some employees, it's not just once in a while when Monday rolls around; instead, stress is their daily reality. Over time, this can lead to full-on employee burnout.

Burnout is especially common in the fast-paced, competitive environment of the tech industry. But how common is it, what are the consequences, why should we care and what can employers do to de-stress their workforce?

Why mental health matters in the workplace and what companies can do to address it.Pexels.com

How Common Is Employee Burnout?

This is the question that Blind—a workplace app for tech employees—set out to answer through a user survey.

The app is used by 40,000 Microsoft employees, 25,000 from Amazon, 10,000 from Google, 7,000 from Uber, 6,000 from Facebook, and thousands from other tech companies, so there is wide representation in their survey results.

The one-question survey had a simple yes/no answer: “Are you currently suffering from job burnout?”

And over half of respondents (57.16%, to be exact) answered yes.

Some companies had more burnout than others in the survey. Credit Karma had the highest rate, with over 70% of employees saying they were burnt out. Netflix was the lowest at around 39%.

But when the best company in the survey still has a nearly 40% burnt-out workforce...the tech industry might have a problem.

What Is Causing Employee Burnout?

A survey by Kronos found three top-cited factors for workplace burnout: unfair compensation (41%), an unreasonable workload (32%), and too much overtime work (32%). Other common factors included poor management, negative workplace culture, and employees feeling disconnected from the company strategy in their roles.

Many of these factors are controllable if companies are honest and proactive about the issue (discussed in greater detail later on).

The Consequences of Burnout

Burnout has serious consequences on both the micro and macro levels. In healthcare spending alone, workplace stress costs $125 to $190 billion annually. It contributes to around 120,000 deaths per year.

Stress is also responsible for higher rates of quitting or job-changing among employees: 95% of HR leaders agreed in the Kronos survey that burnout was sabotaging workforce retention.

James Campbell Quick, Ph.D., has produced much research regarding occupational stress and burnout, examining it from both the individual and organizational levels. He emphasizes that there are also financial consequences for companies who ignore the mental health of their workforce.

"There are huge, if sometimes hard to calculate, financial costs associated with poor mental health at work," Quick says. "The US Air Force HR team at one logistics depot of 13,000 employees estimated that there were over $33 million in costs avoided because the commanding general had hired a full-time psychologist."

Why We Should All Care About Employees' Mental Health

Other than the utilitarian financial reasons, Quick adds, there's a "moral or humanitarian" component. "People are intrinsically important."

Lynn Hamilton, Chief Commercial Officer at online therapy company Talkspace, says, "Roughly one in five people have a diagnosable mental health condition, and these numbers run parallel in the workplace. Yet, the vast majority of people either don’t seek treatment, are misdiagnosed or don’t get the adequate treatment they need."

You may know these employees, work with them, or be one yourself. It's an important issue to care about because the ripple effects are wide.

And it's certainly worth caring about on the institutional level as well. Business psychologist and psychotherapist Douglas Labier, Ph.D., has dedicated decades to studying the connection between people's work and their mental/emotional health, and working personally with those affected.

"Why is it important for companies to care about employees' mental health?" asks Labier. "That’s like growing a vegetable garden and then asking why it’s important to provide water and adequate sunlight. A company has the objective of a productive, profitable and sustainable business, and the mental health of employees is central to that."

What Companies Can Do To Reduce Stress In The Workplace

There are several steps that companies can take to reduce the impact of burnout on their employees. It all starts with figuring out what the most common sources of burnout are for their own employees since every company is different. From there, they can pursue the following strategies.

Acknowledge that the problem exists. "Employee burnout is real, and all are at risk for this problem," says Quick. "Early intervention is best, so as employees reach a yellow zone for burnout, that’s the time to make referrals or maybe turn down the pressure put on them and the pressure they self-generate."

Create a work environment where employees feel listened to, empowered, and appreciated on a daily basis. Labier suggests that this begins with management culture: "Exclude toxic, arrogant, and narcissistic bosses. Promote collaboration, support for learning and development, a fair reward system, transparency, promotion of diversity, etc."

Emphasize wellness initiatives that focus on both physical and mental health. A good healthcare plan, healthy food provided on site, and covered gym/yoga memberships are good examples. Employers can also do things like pay for meditation apps or sessions for employees and provide quiet rooms where employees can do a mental reset.

Offer a flexible working environment: for instance, allow employees to choose their own hours, work from home when needed, and take time off regularly. "Ensure that people have time off, respites from work, and emotional support on the job," says Quick. "Burnout results from working or striving for too long and/or with too much effort and energy expenditure."

Encourage non-work activities. "Burnout is best prevented when people have things that excite them, energize them, and bring them renewals…whatever that is." explains Quick. "Encourage employees to have non-work interests and activities that offer balance and alternative sources of renewal."

Provide access to counseling resources, whether in person or online. According to Hamilton, online therapy programs like Talkspace "eliminate the biggest barriers to therapy; access, convenience, and stigma." Either way, she says, effective therapy should have "an ongoing, personal 1:1 relationship between therapist and client, treatment planning, goal setting, and measuring outcomes."

By addressing employee stress and burnout, companies can improve on a financial, operational, and even human level. "Companies that offer a variety of options for mental healthcare are making an investment in their workforce," concludes Hamilton. "Dividends are paid in the form of higher retention, lower overall total medical costs, and a more productive workforce."

I am the creator of Learn to Code With Me , where I help people learn how to code so they can get ahead in their careers and ultimately find more fulfillment in their lives. After teaching myself how to code at 22 years old, I discove...